"I have to find him."
They were moving fast down the corridor, Derek half a step ahead, Kira's hand still locked in his.
"The Shadow King." She glanced up at him. "It's not enough to fight them out there. Every single Umbra in this place is running off one tether, and every tether runs back to him. Kill enough of them and he'll simply make more. He's been making them for years."
"I'm not letting you go near that thing," Derek said.
"No." She said it gently, because she knew exactly what she was asking him to swallow. "I need to go. I need to stop him. That's what I'm for, Derek. It's the whole reason they've spent my entire life trying to get their hands on me."
He was quiet for three long strides.
"I'm not letting you go there alone," he said. "Not for a second."
Kira's mouth twitched. "That's fair."
"It isn't up for discussion."
"I said it was fair."
